Louisville basketball: T-Will looking to resurrect career with the BIG3

It’s been quite some time since we last saw former Louisville basketball star, Terrence Williams. After a short stint in the NBA, can the once beloved Card get his career back on track?

In today’s “hmm, hadn’t thought about that guy in while” news, there’s a former beloved Louisville basketball superstar who looks to be making a return to play professional basketball.

The last time we saw said star, was in 2013 when he signed a 10-day contract with the Boston Celtics after bouncing around the NBA for multiple seasons, eventually leading to a multi-year contract that looked to finally have him ready to be a consistent rotation player for the first time since his first two seasons with the Nets, only to get bounced just a few months later.

After that, he traveled from country to country trying to reclaim a sliver of the reputation that he once had playing at Louisville that led many to believe he could be a star in the NBA someday. He played in Turkey, then the NBA D-League, then in Puerto Rico, then Mexico, then Israel, before signing with the AmeriLeague in the United States before it ultimately folded after being found to be run by a scam artist. Since then, nothing. Until yesterday.

Who is the player we’re talking about? Well, you read the intro so you know it’s Terrence Williams, also known to Louisville fans as “T-Will.”

The last time Terrence Williams played professional basketball was in 2015, but at 31 years old and technically “retired?” the artist known as T-Will has decided to make a comeback attempt. To do so, he has to first find a league who will sign him.

That league appears to be the Big 3, a 3×3 basketball league ran by rapper and actor Ice Cube, made up of mostly retired former NBA players, that compete in weekly games on Fox Sports 1. Current players who play in the league that you may know from their NBA days include Nate Robinson, Mike Bibby, Glen “Big Baby Davis,” Stephen Jackson, Rashard Lewis, Cuttino Mobley, Ron Artest, Chauncey Billups, and plenty of others.

https://twitter.com/thebig3/status/1098615571720036352

T-Will will join a loaded draft pool in a season where the BIG3 will be expanding by four teams. The pool includes names such as Gilbert Arenas, Greg Oden, Lamar Odom, Josh Selby, Royce White, and Kendrick Perkins. It’s important to note that just because Williams has put his name into the league pool, does not mean he will be playing. Williams will first have to be drafted by one of the BIG3 teams, something he wasn’t able to make happen last season.

This is the perfect opportunity for Williams to at least begin the path of rebuilding what can only be classified as a disappointing career. He played in 153 career NBA games, where he averaged career stats of 7.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists, all, in my opinion, were far to low. But like many people reported after his time came to an end at Louisville, his attitude and lack of humility ultimately led to the demise of his career.

So why will this be any different and why should I or anyone else care about a 3×3 league?

This I can’t answer – but to me, a hardcore Louisville fan, T-Will is the guy that would make this league attractive to watch weekly. I grew up as a kid during the T-Will, Earl Clark teams, and it would be a lie if I said he wasn’t one of my top 3-5 favorite players.

When he was drafted in 2009 by the New Jersey Nets with the 11th pick my NBA fandom only grew. At that point, I was expecting him to become a perennial all-star due to his electrifying play that I got to watch first hand for four seasons.

To be honest I completely had forgotten about T-Will until I saw him entering the BIG3 and it only reminded me of how cool it would be to watch him play basketball again.

The 2019 BIG3 draft will take place May 1st. Here’s to hoping that T-Will can get his career back on track.